Presentation Helsinki summit to Unicef
May 19, 2008, a beautiful place, joyful guests and a great group of teenagers. All coming together to show the results of the international youth summit in Helsinki, Finland, and proudly presenting it to UNICEF, the Netherlands.
Teenagers, rapping, reciting, singing, presenting; a crafted act of successful “actors” sharing the experiences of their participation at the summit. They shared their travels to an unknown country, meeting teenagers from Bulgaria, Turkey, USA, Finland and others from the Netherlands. Sleeping together with someone from another culture, not speaking a language, or even being able to understand the other. Realizing that some kids were shy, others would speak out, tasks being given and all the sudden having to work together to present a tangible result.
The youth of Mytikas, the Hague, described the process for the projects they worked on, they were proud of their soccer match they won!, and were surprised how much they could achieve in such a short period.
After their presentation at Atlantic Hotel in The Hague, the Netherlands, on behalf of Stichting ThePeaceBrokers Netherlands, the poster “Using creative mediums to shift poverty to prosperity” was handed to UNICEF Netherlands.
Ms. Florence Teesingen, UNICEF accepted the poster. Her comments reflected the words the participants from Helsinki had just presented during their sketch. She saw youth with self-confidence and a newly gained understanding for peers in other countries; teenagers, who had stepped out of their comfort zone, had realized that all were equal and facing similar problems as they were facing. They understood now how extremely “wealthy” they were compared to some of their peers; and who made the commitment to take their part to empower teenagers all over the world.
It was a great event and visited by many a business associate, friends, colleagues, and interested parties.
The poster will be placed at the UNICEF Headquarters in the Hague.